Start Developing Your Own Software

Written by Daniel Punch

Continued from page 1

C++ C++ is a derivation of C programming language. C code still works in C++ programs. It is an object-oriented language and very powerful.

Pros: · As close to a universal programming language, as you’re likely to get at moment. It’s used everywhere. · Object oriented technology included, highly supported and recommended, but not forced upon you. · Programs are stand alone, no need for interpreters (sometimes external libraries will need to be installed on target PC). · Easy to port to other platforms if standard C++ guidelines are adhered to. · Many libraries available for added functionality.

Cons: · Quite difficult to learn. You’ll never really stop learning new things about it (which is also a pro, I guess). · Non-trivial programs aren’t easily ported if they use platform-specific libraries (e.g. DirectX etc.). · Programs can be slightly larger and slower than those programmed in C.

Visual Basic Visual Basic is a very easy language to use. Its code is similar to Pseudo-code and many times developer can simply type what they think should work and it does, which is cool.

Cons: · Not as flexible as other languages, you can’t do as much. · Runs slower than C/C++ · Purely a Microsoft product and Windows based.

Where you start is largely up to you and what you want to get out of your programming. If you want to make it a career you’re going to want to be familiar with more ‘industrial’ programming languages such as C and C++. There are still a lot of people out there experienced with these languages but you’ll be in a more specialized field. You’d have trouble throwing a punch in a crowded room without starting a scuffle with someone who could get a program going in Visual Basic. Start with a language that is suited to your skill level and when you’ve learnt a bit of that you’ll find it easier to move on to other languages. I’ve found personally and within my group of peers at university that now that we all have a certain amount of programming knowledge, it really doesn’t take much effort to get stuck into another language and code a program there. Most of our assignments are done through improvisation as we learn specifics of a language necessary to implement assignment. You may not get a program as cohesive and well written as you would like compared with if you had a better idea of what you are actually doing, but it usually works.

Don’t let me kid you into believing that you can develop software with utmost ease. You’ll be sitting there staring at just three lines of code for two hours wondering why it doesn’t work before you realize that your capitalization is wrong. However, it is a very rewarding feeling when you do get to end of a program and it all works beautifully (at least until user base get their hands on it and break it). So if you’re even somewhat interested get in there and have a go. The worst that can happen is that you’ll rewrite your boot sector.

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Daniel Punch is a writer working at M6.Net: ‘The web-hosting company for humans.’ M6.Net is working hard to help humanity experience the power and freedom to develop their own part of the Internet, to share their information and connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Choosing a Tape Drive

Written by Linus Chang

Continued from page 1

There are two usual reasons why tape drive are not be supplied with data at a sufficient rate. Firstly, rate at which data is read from hard disk of server is insufficient. This rate is dependent on sizes and locations of files on disk and is generally unpredictable, but can be determined by use of specialised software.

Secondly, if data is being transferred over a network of computers to a backup server, network may be incapable of supplying data at a sufficient rate. The maximum throughput of a network is predictable and easy to measure, based on previous network performance.

Consider a network using 10BaseT Ethernet. This transfer rate through this type of network cannot exceed 10MB/s, so it is immediately apparent that a tape drive requiring 20MB/s is inappropriate.

3. Reliability and duty cycle.

A simple way to gauge reliability of a tape drive is to find out Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) as specified by manufacturer. You should note, however, that MTBF is usually specified at a certain duty cycle. For example, consider a Travan tape drive with a MTBF of 370,000 hours at 20% duty cycle. The drive will only have an average of 370,000 hours between failures if it is run less than 20% of time (about 4.8 hours per day), and running tape drive for any longer will significantly reduce reliability of drive.

4. Price

There is no point purchasing highest-range tape drive if it's simply too expensive. Consider how much value-for-money tape drive will give you. Are you willing to pay more for extra performance? Or do you need to sacrifice some performance to save on costs?

If you choose wisely, you should end up with a tape drive that fulfils your organization's needs, without blowing budget.

Linus Chang is a backup expert and the lead developer of BackupAssist -- tape backup software that is simple and affordable, and perfect for small and medium businesses. Protect your Windows servers, including SQL Server and Exchange Server, to tape, REV drive, hard drive, NAS and more, at a fraction of the cost of other backup software. The product website is at http://www.backupassist.com